The Haunted

Summary:
Sequel to I Will Haunt You. Bella's a vampire now, but is it all that she ever wanted it to be? Can she avoid being one of the haunted? "My invisibility gave me a whole new level of temptation. It was the monster of me." (sequel to first ending, not the alternate ending)

Notes:
Sorry this took so long to get up, guys. I hope you still want to read it.

1. Chapter 1

I didn’t mean to kill him. I don’t know that I meant to even do anything. I had to wonder, was I just caught up in the hunt? Was it simply because I was a young vampire, and unable to resist? Or was there a part of me, one that was kept hidden under layers of my heart, that wanted to?

Did I enjoy killing that innocent man? Did I like hunting him in the dark, tracking his every step, and trapping him? Did I enjoy looking him in the eyes and edging closer, knowing he thought he saw an angel? Was there a part of me, a deep and horrid part, that liked sucking his blood and silencing his screams while watching the light leave his eyes and his life slip through my fingers?

I think there was.

And with this thought I felt myself metaphorically fall deep into myself,

And I fell.

And fell.

And fell.

Until I hit into the dark corners of my soul where hopes died and monsters lurked.

I became what I never wanted to be.

A soulless monster.

~

I felt as if the world was moving in slow motion. So slow, that I could watch each individual snowflake fall to the ground. I felt as if I were slowly fading into the scenery, I became the trees and the hills. I became the snow. I became death.

It was at this moment that I realized I was invisible.

Good. I thought with satisfaction. I deserved to be nothing.

I had been given a chance to be good, the chance to be a vegetarian vampire. But I had messed up.

I had used my invisibility to my advantage, and ran away from the restraining arms that held me back.

My invisibility gave me a whole new level of temptation. It was the monster of me.

~

The cold was nothing to me now. It was just a variant shade of blue in a blue world. Kind of cold, cold, freezing; it all hit my icy dead skin the same way. It was the warmth I wanted, I craved. A fire, an oven, the red ambrosia that was the pinnacle of my shame.

I wanted nothing more that to feel warm right now.

I distantly felt a hand, also icy cold, slip into mine. I snuggled down deeper into the snow.

There was nothing better than burrowing yourself into the snow. It was silent, so silent, with the muffled howl of the wind above you. It tasted of normalcy and a cold comfort. It sang into your ears, both sweet and sinister: “you will never be more than this”.

And I wouldn’t. I would lay here, hidden from time and humanity until the sun burned out and the world ended.

I deserved nothing better than this.

I felt the hand grasp mine more firmly and I tried to tug away, my snow cocoon was much more inviting. The hand gripped and pulled, and I burst silently from the snow. The hand guided me like a newborn into the world.

With a blast of light, color, and shapes, everything came back.

Shame.

Hate.

Bloodlust.

Anger.

These were my companions.

Then, I remembered there was a twinge of love when familiar arms encircled me. With a sigh, I melted like snow under the sun in his arms.

“Bella.” Edward’s voice said, more comforting than the snow on any day. “What happened?” His voice held two meanings.

What did you do?

What’s wrong?

But he knew, I was sure of that.

He scooped me up and cradled me in his arms, like I was a child. Or still human. I dug my face into his shoulder and clawed onto his shirt.

~

I sat in our room with Edward. Hours had passed, and not one word was said. The air was too thick with shame and self-loathing for words to get through, even without I felt as if I was drowning.

Edward sighed and slid closer to me on the bed and set me on his lap. He tucked my head under his chin and talked. The rippling of his vocal cords vibrated against my face.

“Bella, it’s okay.” He said gently, as if he wanted to explain everything he was thinking, but couldn’t.

“Edward,” I said with a dead calm that disguised my horror. “I killed someone.”

He stared ahead. “I did too, you know.”

“I know. But I just hoped-- I never wanted to be that way. I wanted to be stronger.” I winced as I realized he could have taken that as a direct jibe to him.

“Bella. We all fall off the wagon sometimes, remember? You’ve been doing well, especially considering your…particular…power. Just take this, and use it as a lesson.” He nuzzled my cheek.

The incident played over my mind in a series of horrible images. A delicious smell, not so far away. Three sets of strong arms restraining me. A brief struggle. Then the realization that hit me.

I disappeared, and the arms fell through air. I followed the smell.

The blood, red like rose petals on the snow.

I shuddered, trying to suppress my thoughts into the recesses of my mind.

“Is it okay…if we stay in the house for awhile?” I whispered into his throat.

“I think that would be for the best.” He said, and I knew he was thinking of avoiding another murder incident.

I ducked my head in shame.

“I love you, Bella.” He whispered.

“I-” I stopped short as I caught sight of something.

My reflection.

I watched my horrifying eyes widen in disgust. My hand reached out of it’s own volition and grabbed the nearest object.

I chucked the object in my hand, which I realized was a lamp, at the mirror across the room. It collided with the mirror with a loud shatter, and a myriad of shards, both from the lamp and the mirror, rained down on the thick carpet.

“Bella!” Edward said, surprised.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to see-”

“Your eyes?” He answered for me, and I nodded my head.

“It’s okay.” He said soothingly and rubbed my back in slow circles.

But it wasn’t.

I hated every fiber of my being. Every tissue and vein that had absorbed that poor human’s blood.